DETAILED ACTION
Claims 1-13 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 5 and 6, filed 5/4/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim(s) 1-13 under 35 USC § 103 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Li et al. (US PG Pub 2024/0129934) and Ganesan et al. (NPL, see PTO-892) and Garcia et al. (NPL, see PTO-892). As noted in the prior Office Action, Li et al. teaches an A2A communication network, where aircraft communicate via 3GPP sidelinks. The teachings of Li et al. are further modified by relying on Ganesan et al. (see fig. 5 and “MCR”) and Garcia et al. (see Table II), which further teach features of 3GPP sidelink (or PC5), which include establishing unicast communications between two devices in an 80-350m range. See rejection below for further citation and clarification.
The examiner notes that the applicant makes further remarks that distinguish their invention from the previous ground of rejection (see remarks, pg. 6, paragraph 2). The examiner concedes that if such features were positively recited within the claims that such language (i.e., integrating UWB to provide location accuracy for link establishment) would overcome the current ground of rejection.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 9, and 13 are objected to because of the following informalities: “1000 meters” should include a comma. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-7 and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US PG Pub 2024/0129934) in view of Ganesan et al. (NPL, see PTO-892) and Garcia et al. (NPL, see PTO-892).
As per claim 1, Li et al. teach a communication system for secure communication between a first flying aircraft and a second flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating example air-to-air (A2A) sidelink communications. In NR, a sidelink based relay or repeater may help to relax the base station transmit power specification, and may help to maintain the UEs' throughput at the cell-edge. The A2A sidelink communications may also be associated with additional benefits”, Fig. 5 shows an air-to-air (A2A) communication system between flying aircraft using sidelink communications. Conceptually, this is supported by D2D communications (see ¶ 0040).], the communication system comprising:
a first communication node and a first processing unit [Li, ¶ 0143, “The apparatus 1902 is a first (transmitting) UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1922”, Fig. 19 shows a hardware implementation for a UE (see fig. 1, element 104) in a 3D ranging system for ATA (air to air) communications. The hardware implementation includes a transceiver (or communication node, see element 1922) and a processor (see element 1904). UE 104 (see fig. 1) includes aircraft, with direct link (or sidelink) communications. The 3D range component is used to determine if the other UE (or aircraft) is within sidelink range (see also ¶ 0051). The other UE is configured to provide a response, if within range (see fig. 14, steps 1406-1418 and ¶s 0100-0105).] provided in the first flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension. In a congested airspace, different aircraft may be layered in different flight levels (FLs). Adjacent FLs may be approximately 1000 feet (ft) (or 0.6 km) apart in altitude. An FL may correspond to an altitude, an altitude range, an altitude set, or a height of flight, etc. Accordingly, sidelink-based multicast may be utilized to improve reliability and throughput. In addition, cooperative sidelink-based unicast with UE cooperation may help to increase spatial diversity”, Sidelink communications between aircraft (see fig. 5) may be based on horizontal (distance, up to 10 km, see rest of ¶ 0073) and/or between vertical flight levels (FLs) which are ~0.6km).],
a second communication node and a second processing unit [Li, ¶ 0143, “The apparatus 1902 is a first (transmitting) UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1922”, Fig. 19 shows a hardware implementation for a UE (see fig. 1, element 104) in a 3D ranging system for ATA (air to air) communications. The hardware implementation includes a transceiver (or communication node, see element 1922) and a processor (see element 1904). UE 104 (see fig. 1) includes aircraft, with direct link (or sidelink) communications. The 3D range component is used to determine if the other UE (or aircraft) is within sidelink range (see also ¶ 0051). The other UE is configured to provide a response, if within range (see fig. 14, steps 1406-1418 and ¶s 0100-0105).] provided in the second flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension. In a congested airspace, different aircraft may be layered in different flight levels (FLs). Adjacent FLs may be approximately 1000 feet (ft) (or 0.6 km) apart in altitude. An FL may correspond to an altitude, an altitude range, an altitude set, or a height of flight, etc. Accordingly, sidelink-based multicast may be utilized to improve reliability and throughput. In addition, cooperative sidelink-based unicast with UE cooperation may help to increase spatial diversity”, Sidelink communications between aircraft (see fig. 5) may be based on horizontal (distance, up to 10 km, see rest of ¶ 0073) and/or between vertical flight levels (FLs) which are ~0.6km).], and,
a computer program product including sets of instructions, wherein the computer program product is configured, when executed on the first processing unit and on the second processing unit [Li, ¶ 0144, “The communication manager 1932 may include a 3D range component 1940 that may be configured to transmit, to the at least one second UE via an SCI-1 message in a PSCCH, one or more parameters for the at least one of the 3D zone ID associated with the first UE or the 3D communication range associated with the first UE, e.g., as described in connection with 1602 in FIG. 16”, The 3D range component is used to transmit control messages (or sidelink control information, SCI) with a neighboring UE (or aircraft). Fig. 8 shows visually in-range vs. out-of-range for aircraft, where aircraft 802/804 would determine to transmit an ACK (see fig. 14, steps 1414-1418) and aircraft 806 would determine to transmit NACK (see fig. 14, steps 1414-1418). See also ¶ 0087.], to cause the communication system to
activate the first communication node, to detect the activated first communication node with the second communication node [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension”, Fig. 14 determines whether the two aircraft are within range, through the use of the ranging component in each aircraft. An ACK message presumably indicates that a communication session may set up (or established). The sidelink communications (A2A via pc5) provide communication between aircraft.]…and to establish a secure communication link between only the first and second flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension”, Fig. 14 determines whether the two aircraft are within range, through the use of the ranging component in each aircraft. An ACK message presumably indicates that a communication session may set up (or established). The sidelink communications (A2A via pc5) provide communication between aircraft. 3GPP based links include security features (see ¶s 0003, 0059, and 0063).].
Li et al. do not explicitly teach to determine a distance between the first flying aircraft and the second flying aircraft is less than 1000 meters.
However, in an analogous art, Ganesan et al. teach determine a distance between the first <device> and the second <device> is less than <range> [Ganesan, pg. 27, “NR-PC5 support, “The design of 5G NR V2X needs to fulfil the reliability and latency value corresponding to a PQI value within a provided MCR”, MCR is defined as a minimum communication range (or distance), where the QoS of 5G NR sidelink is applicable. Fig. 5 (see also pg. 28, “PC5 Unicast Communication”) shows setup of a unicast sidelink communication between two devices when they are within range. PC5 unicast links are established with a peer device that is within range.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the connection establishment as taught by Ganesan et al. into Li et al. One would have been motivated to do this because 3GPP sidelinks are set up using recognized procedures and signalling to ensure connection establishment with a reasonable expectation of success.
In addition, in further analogous art, Garcia et al. teaches a sidelink (or PC5) range of less than 1000 meters [Garcia, pg. 1978, Table II, 5G NR Use Cases, The Table discloses use cases for NR 52X, where the range is less than 1,000 meters for vehicle platooning, which uses sidelinks for nearby devices to communicate (see Section III.A.1).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sidelink use cases of Garcia et al. into the combination of Li et al. and Ganesan et al. One would have been motivated to do this adopting known V2X use cases from Garcia et al. into the combined aircraft communication system that uses V2X as taught by Li et al. and Ganesan et al. would provide inter-aircraft communication at close proximity with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 2, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Li et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the computer program product is further configured to cause the communication system to determine a position of the first communication node relative to the second communication node.
However, in an analogous art, Ganesan et al. teach wherein the computer program product is further configured to cause the communication system to determine a position of the first communication node relative to the second communication node [Ganesan, pg. 27, “NR-PC5 support, “The design of 5G NR V2X needs to fulfil the reliability and latency value corresponding to a PQI value within a provided MCR”, MCR is defined as a minimum communication range (or distance), where the QoS of 5G NR sidelink is applicable. Fig. 5 (see also pg. 28, “PC5 Unicast Communication”) shows setup of a unicast sidelink communication between two devices when they are within range. PC5 unicast links are established with a peer device that is within range.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the connection establishment as taught by Ganesan et al. into Li et al. One would have been motivated to do this because 3GPP sidelinks are set up using recognized procedures and signalling to ensure connection establishment with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 3, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Li et al. also teach wherein the computer program product includes further sets of instructions allowing a secure transfer of data to an aircraft control domain system [Li, ¶ 0003, “An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements”, The protocols used for the A2A communications include security features (see also ¶s 0059 and 0063).].
As per claim 4, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Li et al. also teach wherein the communication system utilizes an ultra-wide band (UWB) technology [Li, ¶ 0040, “Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use the DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communications systems, such as for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronic s Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR”, Bluetooth and Zigbee are considered UWB technologies.].
As per claim 5, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Li et al. also teach wherein the communication system uses utilizes a cellular network [Li, ¶ 0040, “Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use the DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communications systems, such as for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronic s Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR”, LTE and NR are cellular technologies.].
As per claim 6, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Li et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the communication link is configured to transfer human to machine communication, machine to machine communication, or both.
However, in an analogous art, Garcia et al. teach wherein the communication link is configured to transfer human to machine communication, machine to machine communication, or both [Garcia, pg. 1978, Table II, 5G NR Use Cases, The Table discloses use cases for NR 52X, where the range is less than 1,000 meters for vehicle platooning (m2m communication @80-350m), which uses sidelinks for nearby devices to communicate (see Section III.A.1).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sidelink use cases of Garcia et al. into the combination of Li et al. and Ganesan et al. One would have been motivated to do this adopting known V2X use cases from Garcia et al. into the combined aircraft communication system that uses V2X as taught by Li et al. and Ganesan et al. would provide inter-aircraft communication at close proximity with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 7, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Lie et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the communication link between the first and second flying aircraft is established, once the distance between the first and second flying aircraft is less than 500 meters or less than 200 meters or less than 100 meters.
However, in an analogous art, Garcia et al. teach wherein the communication link between the first and second flying aircraft is established, when the distance between the first and second flying aircraft is less than 500 meters or less than 200 meters or less than 100 meters [Garcia, pg. 1978, Table II, 5G NR Use Cases, The Table discloses use cases for NR 52X, where the range is less than 1,000 meters for vehicle platooning (80-350m), which uses sidelinks for nearby devices to communicate (see Section III.A.1).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sidelink use cases of Garcia et al. into the combination of Li et al. and Ganesan et al. One would have been motivated to do this adopting known V2X use cases from Garcia et al. into the combined aircraft communication system that uses V2X as taught by Li et al. and Ganesan et al. would provide inter-aircraft communication at close proximity with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 9, Li et al. teach a method of secure communication between a first and a second flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating example air-to-air (A2A) sidelink communications. In NR, a sidelink based relay or repeater may help to relax the base station transmit power specification, and may help to maintain the UEs' throughput at the cell-edge. The A2A sidelink communications may also be associated with additional benefits”, Fig. 5 shows an air-to-air (A2A) communication system between flying aircraft using sidelink communications. Conceptually, this is supported by D2D communications (see ¶ 0040).], the method comprising:
activating at least one communication node of a communication system [Li, ¶ 0143, “The apparatus 1902 is a first (transmitting) UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1922”, Fig. 19 shows a hardware implementation for a UE (see fig. 1, element 104) in a 3D ranging system for ATA (air to air) communications. The hardware implementation includes a transceiver (or communication node, see element 1922) and a processor (see element 1904). UE 104 (see fig. 1) includes aircraft, with direct link (or sidelink) communications. The 3D range component is used to determine if the other UE (or aircraft) is within sidelink range (see also ¶ 0051). The other UE is configured to provide a response, if within range (see fig. 14, steps 1406-1418 and ¶s 0100-0105).] of the first flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension. In a congested airspace, different aircraft may be layered in different flight levels (FLs). Adjacent FLs may be approximately 1000 feet (ft) (or 0.6 km) apart in altitude. An FL may correspond to an altitude, an altitude range, an altitude set, or a height of flight, etc. Accordingly, sidelink-based multicast may be utilized to improve reliability and throughput. In addition, cooperative sidelink-based unicast with UE cooperation may help to increase spatial diversity”, Sidelink communications between aircraft (see fig. 5) may be based on horizontal (distance, up to 10 km, see rest of ¶ 0073) and/or between vertical flight levels (FLs) which are ~0.6km).], detecting the activated communication nodes with a communication node [Li, ¶ 0143, “The apparatus 1902 is a first (transmitting) UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1922”, Fig. 19 shows a hardware implementation for a UE (see fig. 1, element 104) in a 3D ranging system for ATA (air to air) communications. The hardware implementation includes a transceiver (or communication node, see element 1922) and a processor (see element 1904). UE 104 (see fig. 1) includes aircraft, with direct link (or sidelink) communications. The 3D range component is used to determine if the other UE (or aircraft) is within sidelink range (see also ¶ 0051). The other UE is configured to provide a response, if within range (see fig. 14, steps 1406-1418 and ¶s 0100-0105).] at the second flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension. In a congested airspace, different aircraft may be layered in different flight levels (FLs). Adjacent FLs may be approximately 1000 feet (ft) (or 0.6 km) apart in altitude. An FL may correspond to an altitude, an altitude range, an altitude set, or a height of flight, etc. Accordingly, sidelink-based multicast may be utilized to improve reliability and throughput. In addition, cooperative sidelink-based unicast with UE cooperation may help to increase spatial diversity”, Sidelink communications between aircraft (see fig. 5) may be based on horizontal (distance, up to 10 km, see rest of ¶ 0073) and/or between vertical flight levels (FLs) which are ~0.6km).], determining a distance between the first and the second flying aircraft to be less than 1000 meters, establishing…a secure communication link between only the communication nodes of the first and second flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0143, “The apparatus 1902 is a first (transmitting) UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1922”, Fig. 19 shows a hardware implementation for a UE (see fig. 1, element 104) in a 3D ranging system for ATA (air to air) communications. The hardware implementation includes a transceiver (or communication node, see element 1922) and a processor (see element 1904). UE 104 (see fig. 1) includes aircraft, with direct link (or sidelink) communications. The 3D range component is used to determine if the other UE (or aircraft) is within sidelink range (see also ¶ 0051). The other UE is configured to provide a response, if within range (see fig. 14, steps 1406-1418 and ¶s 0100-0105). 3GPP based links include security features (see ¶s 0003, 0059, and 0063).].
Li et al. do not explicitly teach determining a distance between the first and the second flying aircraft to be less than 1000 meters.
However, in an analogous art, Ganesan et al. teach determine a distance between the first <device> and the second <device> is less than <range> [Ganesan, pg. 27, “NR-PC5 support, “The design of 5G NR V2X needs to fulfil the reliability and latency value corresponding to a PQI value within a provided MCR”, MCR is defined as a minimum communication range (or distance), where the QoS of 5G NR sidelink is applicable. Fig. 5 (see also pg. 28, “PC5 Unicast Communication”) shows setup of a unicast sidelink communication between two devices when they are within range. PC5 unicast links are established with a peer device that is within range.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the connection establishment as taught by Ganesan et al. into Li et al. One would have been motivated to do this because 3GPP sidelinks are set up using recognized procedures and signalling to ensure connection establishment with a reasonable expectation of success.
In addition, in further analogous art, Garcia et al. teaches a sidelink (or PC5) range of less than 1000 meters [Garcia, pg. 1978, Table II, 5G NR Use Cases, The Table discloses use cases for NR 52X, where the range is less than 1,000 meters for vehicle platooning, which uses sidelinks for nearby devices to communicate (see Section III.A.1).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sidelink use cases of Garcia et al. into the combination of Li et al. and Ganesan et al. One would have been motivated to do this adopting known V2X use cases from Garcia et al. into the combined aircraft communication system that uses V2X as taught by Li et al. and Ganesan et al. would provide inter-aircraft communication at close proximity with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 10, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the method of claim 9. Li et al. also teach further comprising: verifying that the communication link is configured to be established [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension”, Fig. 14 determines whether the two aircraft are within range, through the use of the ranging component in each aircraft. An ACK message presumably indicates that a communication session may set up (or established). The sidelink communications (A2A via pc5) provide communication between aircraft.].
As per claim 11, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the method of claim 9. Li et al. also teach wherein the communication link is established based on a security protocol [Li, ¶ 0003, “An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements”, The protocols used for the A2A communications include security features (see also ¶s 0059 and 0063).].
As per claim 12, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the method of claim 9. Li et al. do not explicitly teach further comprising: transferring human to machine commands, machine to machine commands, or both from one of the first and the second flying aircraft to the other of the first and the second flying aircraft for controlling flight operation of the other of the first and the second flying aircraft.
However, in an analogous art, Garcia et al. teach transferring human to machine commands, machine to machine commands, or both from one of the first and the second flying aircraft to the other of the first and the second flying aircraft for controlling flight operation of the other of the first and the second flying aircraft [Garcia, pg. 1978, Table II, 5G NR Use Cases, The Table discloses use cases for NR 52X, where the range is less than 1,000 meters for vehicle platooning (m2m communication @80-350m), which uses sidelinks for nearby devices to communicate (see Section III.A.1).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sidelink use cases of Garcia et al. into the combination of Li et al. and Ganesan et al. One would have been motivated to do this adopting known V2X use cases from Garcia et al. into the combined aircraft communication system that uses V2X as taught by Li et al. and Ganesan et al. would provide inter-aircraft communication at close proximity with a reasonable expectation of success.
As per claim 13, Li et al. teach an aircraft comprising:
a communication system for secure communication between flying aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating example air-to-air (A2A) sidelink communications. In NR, a sidelink based relay or repeater may help to relax the base station transmit power specification, and may help to maintain the UEs' throughput at the cell-edge. The A2A sidelink communications may also be associated with additional benefits”, Fig. 5 shows an air-to-air (A2A) communication system between flying aircraft using sidelink communications. Conceptually, this is supported by D2D communications (see ¶ 0040).], the communication system comprising a communication node and a processing unit [Li, ¶ 0143, “The apparatus 1902 is a first (transmitting) UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 1904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 1922”, Fig. 19 shows a hardware implementation for a UE (see fig. 1, element 104) in a 3D ranging system for ATA (air to air) communications. The hardware implementation includes a transceiver (or communication node, see element 1922) and a processor (see element 1904). UE 104 (see fig. 1) includes aircraft, with direct link (or sidelink) communications. The 3D range component is used to determine if the other UE (or aircraft) is within sidelink range (see also ¶ 0051). The other UE is configured to provide a response, if within range (see fig. 14, steps 1406-1418 and ¶s 0100-0105).],
wherein a computer program product including sets of instructions is configured to be executed on the processing unit [Li, ¶ 0144, “The communication manager 1932 may include a 3D range component 1940 that may be configured to transmit, to the at least one second UE via an SCI-1 message in a PSCCH, one or more parameters for the at least one of the 3D zone ID associated with the first UE or the 3D communication range associated with the first UE, e.g., as described in connection with 1602 in FIG. 16”, The 3D range component is used to transmit control messages (or sidelink control information, SCI) with a neighboring UE (or aircraft). Fig. 8 shows visually in-range vs. out-of-range for aircraft, where aircraft 802/804 would determine to transmit an ACK (see fig. 14, steps 1414-1418) and aircraft 806 would determine to transmit NACK (see fig. 14, steps 1414-1418). See also ¶ 0087.] to cause the communication system to establish a secure communication link between only the aircraft and a second aircraft [Li, ¶ 0073, “Accordingly, sidelink relays or repeaters may be utilized (over a PC5 interface) for coverage extension”, Fig. 14 determines whether the two aircraft are within range, through the use of the ranging component in each aircraft. An ACK message presumably indicates that a communication session may set up (or established). The sidelink communications (A2A via pc5) provide communication between aircraft. 3GPP based links include security features (see ¶s 0003, 0059, and 0063).].
Li et al. do not explicitly teach to determine a distance between the first flying aircraft and the second flying aircraft is less than 1000 meters.
However, in an analogous art, Ganesan et al. teach determine a distance between the first <device> and the second <device> is less than <range> [Ganesan, pg. 27, “NR-PC5 support, “The design of 5G NR V2X needs to fulfil the reliability and latency value corresponding to a PQI value within a provided MCR”, MCR is defined as a minimum communication range (or distance), where the QoS of 5G NR sidelink is applicable. Fig. 5 (see also pg. 28, “PC5 Unicast Communication”) shows setup of a unicast sidelink communication between two devices when they are within range. PC5 unicast links are established with a peer device that is within range.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the connection establishment as taught by Ganesan et al. into Li et al. One would have been motivated to do this because 3GPP sidelinks are set up using recognized procedures and signalling to ensure connection establishment with a reasonable expectation of success.
In addition, in further analogous art, Garcia et al. teaches a sidelink (or PC5) range of less than 1000 meters [Garcia, pg. 1978, Table II, 5G NR Use Cases, The Table discloses use cases for NR 52X, where the range is less than 1,000 meters for vehicle platooning, which uses sidelinks for nearby devices to communicate (see Section III.A.1).].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement the sidelink use cases of Garcia et al. into the combination of Li et al. and Ganesan et al. One would have been motivated to do this adopting known V2X use cases from Garcia et al. into the combined aircraft communication system that uses V2X as taught by Li et al. and Ganesan et al. would provide inter-aircraft communication at close proximity with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US PG Pub 2024/0129934) in view of Ganesan et al. (NPL, see PTO-892) and Garcia et al. (NPL, see PTO-892) and Frolov et al. (US PG Pub 2020/0106518).
As per claim 8, Li et al. in view of Ganesan et al. and Garcia et al. teach the communication system of claim 1. Li et al. do not explicitly teach wherein the communication link is configured to transfer commands for adjusting parameters of an auto pilot system.
However, in an analogous art, Frolov et al. teach wherein the communication link is configured to transfer commands for adjusting parameters of an auto pilot system [Frolov, ¶ 0034, “The control channel subsystem 622 can be used for exchanging control data between different ATPs within a same fleet”, The ACP platform (see fig. 6) includes an autopilot system (see element 607) and a control channel subsystem for Air-to-Air communications (see elements 622 and 625). The control data exchanged between airplanes in an ACP fleet (see fig. 5) includes location and timing information, which amounts to sensor data (see element 606, where each aircraft in the ACP exchanges this information) that an autopilot would rely upon for operation.].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to adopt the control data exchange operations of the airborne communication platform of Frolov et al. into the combination of Li et al., Ganesan et al., and Garcia et al. One would have been motivated to do this because an autopilot is a common feature within commercial aircraft and exchanging sensor data via air-to-air communications between aircraft would improve its operation for collision avoidance with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Paul H. Masur whose telephone number is (571)270-7297. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 4:30 AM to 5PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Rebecca Song can be reached at (571) 270-3667. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Paul H. Masur/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2417
Prosecution Insights